Leaf: opposite, simple; 4-6" (10-15 cm) long and nearly as wide, broadly ovate, deeply 5 lobed and long-pointed (middle lobe often 3-lobed); double saw-toothed, with 5 main veins from base; becoming hairless; slender drooping reddish leafstalk, dull green above, silvery-white beneath; turning pale yellow in autumn.
Flower: 1/4" (6 mm) long; reddish buds turning greenish-yellow; crowded in nearly stalkless clusters; male and female in separate clusters; in late winter or very early before leaves.
Fruit: 1 1/2-2 1/2" (4-6 cm) long including long broad wing; paired, widely forking keys; light brown, 1 seeded; maturing in spring.
Twig: light green to brown; long, spreading and often slightly drooping, hairless; with slightly unpleasant odor when crushed.
Bark: gray; becoming furrowed into long scaly shaggy ridges.
Form: large tree with short, stout trunk, few large forks, spreading, open irregular crown of long, curving branches.
Habitat: Wet soils of stream banks, flood plains, and swamps; with other hardwoods.
Range: southern Ontario east to New Brunswick, south to northwestern Florida, west to eastern Oklahoma, north to northern Minnesota; to 2000' (610 m), higher in mountains.
Location: on the Bunker Hill High School campus, south of gym.
latitude: 39o02.38N
longitude: 089o57.65W
The silver maple is a popular shade tree due to its rapid growth. The branches are brittle and easily broken in a windstorm. Sugar can be obtained from the sweetish sap, but the yield is low.
© Community Unit School District #8, Bunker Hill
504 E. Warren, Bunker Hill, IL 62014
References:
Little, Elbert L. Field Guide to Trees: Eastern Region. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1980.
Mohlenbrock, Robert H. Forest Trees of Illinois. Springfield, IL: 1992